“Wicked” Word-Of-Mouth
I finally did it. I went to see the film “Wicked - Part One”. I wasn’t planning on it. It was the word of mouth hype that got me to say yes when our friends invited us to join them for a Sunday matinee.
Matinee double date: L to R: Michael, Rahul, me, Corey
While “Wicked” was entertaining on a few levels, a personal review is not the main purpose for me to write my thoughts here.
Still, I’ll share a few:
As a former musician, I appreciate musicals, in general, although I am not remembering any of the numbers like I did “Les Misérables” (I know almost every song by heart) or “The Greatest Showman” (especially the piece that I consider an anthem “This Is Me”).
In fact, I’m actually listening to that soundtrack as I write this article….go figure! I believe that music can heal, and it can certainly inspire me, so here we are.
I love fantasy film fashion and “magical” themes. The costumes! The makeup (I used to be a makeup artist of sorts)!
Plus, I still have fond memories of the original “Wizard Of Oz”, and now that I’m an adult, I appreciate the adult themes and symbolism that film brought into our privileged psyches, then and now. This newest film, “Wicked” explores themes that inspire me, in that it at least lightly “touched on” many of the “isms” that have brought so much disconnection to our current global and domestic affairs.
Enough about my personal overview of the film.
I am inspired to share my insights about word-of-mouth marketing with you.
Yes, that “dirty word”, marketing. Misunderstood, mishandled, misleading, riddled with intimidating jargon and ridicule by brands, entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders who still don’t understand that marketing is simply a magnet for the purpose of drawing your people closer to you.
That’s it.
Think about what drives you to do business with brands. It’s the people you respect most often making recommendations. Period. It’s not rocket science. It’s human behavior that helps build relationships based on trust and loyalty. Word-of- mouth is still THE MOST persuasive and successful form of marketing, bar none.
And I believe it will always be so.
Reach out! Let’s meet for a few minutes.
I’m as close as your keypad.
Social media (where I specialize in building global communities around conscious brands) is, I believe, word-of-mouth marketing on steroids. In fact, waaaaay back when I started learning the nuances of relationship building (aka relationship marketing) online, I was voraciously reading all the books I could and following “Social CEOs” like Richard Branson and my friend Bryan Kramer, so I could pick up new ideas, inspiration, best practices, and ways to translate that eye-to-eye business relationship from the keyboard to the screen, to the point-of-sale, making conversations more natural and warm. I believe that we can leverage (read: use) social media and other digital channels to build lasting relationships that scale and PAY dividends in many ways, through not only one-time sales, but also through what I consider the coins of the realm: repeat business and referrals. Social media has made both of those key cornerstones easier every day (which fascinates me because social media, in it’s original forms, were never meant to be “sales” channels).
(this may be a good time to insert my strong onion that I don’t give a shit what kind of megalomaniacs run the platforms. They change every “ten minutes”. None of us can keep up with what’s happening behind those slimy business scenes. Similarly, no one can truly be any kind of “social media expert”, because the algorithms change every five minutes. It’s all too much. The work-around?
Use the tools, don’t let the tools use you.
No one is the “boss” of you. You get to choose your level of involvement and today, more than ever, especially with the platforms still not charging us to use them, YOU are in charge. Practice discernment, get help from an experienced pro, explore new accounts relevant to YOU and your brand purpose. Those are just a few of the principles I teach in my #ShowUpYOU course, which is currently building the next Wait List. You are welcome to email me if you are interested in knowing when the next course registration opens.)
So, after seeing SO many of the people I like and respect over a couple weeks since the film “Wicked” was released, go on and on about it (online) I said YES to Michael and Rahul’s invitation (and Corey was surprisingly willing, even though he doesn’t love musical).
And brands, here’s the thing…(I’m getting up close to whisper this in your ear because apparently, it’s still the best kept secret):
Your advertising dollars will never be able to buy that kind of world-of-mouth promotion. Never. This is real human-to-human (#H2H) shit. Visit my friend and business coach BK’s site to learn more about that.
Photo by Nguyễn Phúc on Unsplash
Once you create a community of advocates and “evangelists” (ugh, kind of an overused “dirty word” these days, eh?), there’s no stopping the momentum of the organic and relational “machine” that will bring you the return-on-investment you seek. It’s immeasurable, literally, to calculate the power behind those relationship that YOU and your teams make time to forge. Once you generate a solid foundation of loyal and trusting clients and customers, there’s no stopping you.
I love this stuff. I was born to build conscious global businesses, and to teach, train, and consult on the best practices that you as a business owner may be too close to see.
By the way, I think I counted at least 6 movie trailers in the 35 minutes it took for us to watch the ads and clips before “Wicked” started, and I already have my next must-see lined up….any guesses? Ok, ok, it’s Mufasa: The Lion King.
Great holiday film, especially if the holidays are not your “thing”.
When is the last time you tried a product, service, or saw a film or series that someone you trust recommended? Please let me know in the comment thread here, and also consider sharing this article, so others can be reassured that word-of-mouth marketing is still the most viable tool on the planet for serving other humans in need.
Let’s connect on whatever socials you are “playing” on these days:
